Mower



ma Model.) f2 ,sheath-sheet I.

E. M. BRE W'STER',

Moma..

0- -501.8f65 Patented July 18,1393; I

ylever is a chain c whose lower end may be l UNITED STATES .PATENTOFF-ICE.

ELIAS M BREVSTER, OF NORWICH, ASSVIGNOR TO ROBERT M. BREWSTER,

oF HARTFORD,

CONNECTICUT.

MOWER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 501,865, dated July 18,1893.

Application filed October 29, 1892.

To all whom-122'? may con/cern,.-

Beit known that I, ELIAS M. BREWSTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Nor# wich, in the county of New London, State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMowers, which improvements are fully set forth and described in thefollowing specification, reference being had tothe accompanying twosheets of drawings.

This invention is in the class of mowers in which the cutter bar may heraised (to clear stones and other obstructions) by means of a leverlocated within reach of the rider, and my purpose is to so improve thelifting and locking mechanisms that much of the labor now necessarilyperformed by hand may be accomplished by foot,thus leaving the hands ofthe rider free to attend to the guiding ofY the team.

Figurelof the annexed drawingsis aperspective view of a portion of theframe of a mower having attached thereto` the seat and also the leverand connected parts by means of which the linger bar may be raised, saidb ar being hinged to the machine frame and connected with the lower endof the chain (seen at the left hand of said figure) in the ordinary way.The manner of hanging and connecting the linger bar forms no part of mypresent invention and l have therefore not illustrated said bar. Fig.2'is an enlarged view of the inner side ofthe machine frame, showing thelifter lever locked in its vertical position. Fig. 3 is a similar viewshowing said lever pulled half way down, in full lines, and as locked inits lowest position in dotted lines. Fig. 4 is an outer side view of thesame parts and Fig. 5 is an outer face view of a portion of the machineframe, showing the channel or chamber in which is fitted to slide a boltdA shown, detached, in Fig. 6. v

In the drawings c, denotes the machine frame having pivoted to its outerface (near the front of said frame) a lifter lever b of considerablelength, whose 'free end terminates in a suitable handle, here formed asa shovel handle ZJ. Secured'to an extension b2 of said connected withthe linger bar ofthe complete mower.V Upon the face of the lever thatconfronts the frame a i-s a'projection or stud b3 Serial No. 450.390.(No model.)

which, under certain conditions, may he engaged by a vertically movablebolt d loosely fitted in a chamber a of the machine frame a.. The upperportion of said frame is formedwith a semi-circular extension a? that isconcentric with the pivot upon which the .lever b swings y and with theripper end of bolt dpthe outer edge of which, when thebolt is in itslowest position, is flush with the circumferential edge of the extensiona2. Projection b3 is so located that it'rnay follow around the saidcircumferential edge when the bolt d is drawn downward but when thecurved end of said bolt is raised above the extension az'the end of saidbolt lies in the arc shaped pathA of said projection and serves as aneffectual lock to prevent any rearward m'ovementof lever b.' Bolt d isof such length that it projects below the framemand it has near itslower end alaterally projecting stud d2 that lengages a lever efulcrumed upon a stud @Sat the front end of frame a. The rear end'of thesaid lever is formed as a pedal e that is located within easy reach ofthe`drivers foot. A spring f is attached to lever e midway of thelatters length, the other end of the spring being attachedto the frameain such manner that said spring seeks, constantly, to draw the lever,and theY connected bolt d, upward and to hold saidparts in the positionsshown-in Fig. 1. When however it is desired to draw downward the bolt d,to allow the lever handle b to be rocked on its pivot, it is onlynecessary to press down the foot lever e, as will be understood byreferen ce to the drawings. When the lever handle h has been drawnrearward and forced down to its lowest position, as seen in dotted linesin Fig. 3, thebolt d may then slide upward sufficiently far to carry thecurved end df past the lever projection'l, thus bringing into the rearof said projection the flat, vertical edge of the bolt and serving as alock to prevent the lever h from rising to a vertical position. When,however, it is desired to release lever b, to drop the finger bar, thefoot lever e may be pressedy downward carrying with it the bolt. So soonas the curved end of the bolt shall have been drawn downward flush withthecurved edge of the frame projectiona lever b is then free to lberaised. The bolt d thus serves to lock the lever h in either a verticalor horizontal position.

It will be noticed that the several drawings show a rod g that ispivoted to the lever ex tension b2 at one end, just above the hori-lment of the driver (having a machine of myy Vimproved form) is to presslever edownward with his foot and so soon as bolt d is drawn away fromprojection h3 the powerful spring h immediately draws lever b rearward adistance sufficient to enable the driver to reach handle b without anyextraordinary effort and he may then force said lever h down to` ahorizontal position either by hand or foot as may be most convenient.When it becomes necessary to release the lever b from` its horizontalposition and allow it to rise, foot lever e is pressed downward to drawthe bolt,` d away from projection h3, when the weight of the finger barhangingheavily on chain c im-i mediateljT lifts lever b until met andover-` come by the resistance of the spring actu-I ated rod g. Thisbrings said lever into easyY reach of the driver and he may then graspit j and force it forward to its vertical position. It will thus be seenthat by utilizing the force l of spring h or the weight of the fingerbar, as the case may be, in connection with myI the lever b may beunlocked and brought to an angle to its,I

improved bolt mechanism,

vertical and horizontal positions, where it may be easily grasped by thedriver without` compelling him to make long and dangerous reaches aftersaid lever, as is now necessary. My lmprovedmechanism is fully as simpleas anyat present employed for the same obj ject and will not wear outquickly or become inoperative.

center and the circumference of the circle described by the movement ofthe stop, subi stantially tangential to said circle, whereby theengagement of the stop with one side ot'.v "the bolt locks the lever inone position and` engagement of it with the other side of the ,l

bolt locks it in the opposite position, substantially as set forth.

2. In a mower, in combination, a pivotal fnger-bar-lifting lever havinga projection b3, adapted to move in the arc of a circle a bolt movablelongitudinally between the center and the circumference of the circledescribed bythe movement of the stop and substantiallyr tangential tosaid circle, whereby that seeks to expand and draw rod g and the stop isadapted to engage with said projection and lock said lever in either avertical or horizontal position as set forth, and a spring actuated footlever connected with said bolt, substantially as and for the objectsspecified.

3. In a mower, the combination, with the machine frame provided with anextension, of

va finger bar lever pivotally secured to said extension and providedwith a stop, a bolt longitudinally movable in a line between the pivotalpoint and the circumference of the circle described by said stop uponthe lever,

whereby the engagement of the stop with one side of the lever holds thelever in one position and its engagement with the opposite side holds itin lanother position, and means for moving said bolt, substantially as4set forth.

4. In a mower, the combination, with the machine frame, one side ofwhich is provided with a slot or chamber, of a finger bar leverpivotally secured to that side of the frame, a portion of the leveroverlying the slot, and provided with a stop, a bolt longitudinallymovable in said slot, one end of which is adapted to be projected fromthe slot to engage with the stop on the lever, and a spring actuatedlever for moving the bolt in the slot, substantially as set forth.

5. In a mower, the combination, with a machine frame having twoprojections, a finger bar lever pivotallysecured to one of saidprojections and provided with a stop, and a collar loosely secured inthe other projection, a rod pivotally secured to the lever at one endand passed through the collar at the other end and provided with aspring beyond the collar, and a bolt longitudinally movable between thecenter and the circumference of the circle described by the movement ofthe stop, and substantially tangential to said circle, whereby one sideof the bolt is adapted to engage with the stop and lock the lever in oneposition and the other side is adapted to engage with the stop and lockthe lever in another position, and means for moving said 1 bolt,substantially as set forth. Having described my invention, Ivclaim1 1-.In combination with the finger bar liftfL ing lever of a mower, providedwith a stop,

of a bolt movable longitudinally between thev 6. In a mower, thecombination, with the machine frame provided with a slot or chamber, ofa finger bar liftingV lever pivotally secured to the exterior of saidframe so as to cover a portion of said chamber, a bolt in said chamberfor locking the lever in .two positions, a spring actuated foot leverpivotally secured to the side of the frame opposite the finger barlever, the intermediate portion ot which is pivotally secured to thelower end of the bolt, whereby the pressure upon the free end of thefoot lever will disengage the bolt from the stop and permit of themovement of the finger bar lever, substantially as set forth.

ELIAS M. BREWSTER.

Witnesses:

FRANK H. ALLEN, ALoNzo M. LUTHER.

IOC

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